


When Someone Takes A Bite Of Jacks Cupcake

by Oskenn



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Depression, Episode 5? What's Episode 5?, Hurt, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jacks not a huge dick in this one, Jacks trying but he's not very good at it, Kidnapping, M/M, PTSD, Paranoia, Poor Rhys, Rhys needs a hug, Separation Anxiety, Suicide Attempt, Tags May Change, i need to stop writing fics like this, jack does not know how to handle emotions, jacks 'help' is shooting things, literally everybody is fucking up, nobody knows how to deal with a traumatised person, non-con, rhys needs a break, self-hate, this is a mess, well he is just not to Rhys
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-08
Packaged: 2019-01-10 03:46:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12290532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oskenn/pseuds/Oskenn
Summary: Little girl, Little girl, don't lie to me.Tell me where did you sleep last night?In the pines, in the pines,Where the sun never shines.Will shiver the whole night through.----When Rhys gets kidnapped the outcome is far different than what anyone ever expected.





	When Someone Takes A Bite Of Jacks Cupcake

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: implications and mentions of sexual assault.
> 
> So yes. this chapter has been completely re-written.
> 
> I was skimming over my fic ready to FINALLY start writing the third chapter and I realised... the original was absolute shite.
> 
> It was a rushed, spur-of-the-moment, shoddy peice of writing that I cringed so bad at.
> 
> I want to write a good fic, and I need to do this topic justice as its such a sensitive subject. So I'm taking down the second chapter and re-writing the first.
> 
> The first still has the original plot and structure, just vastly up-graded with extra scenes and much more detail put in.
> 
> It's not brilliant, but I am way happier with how it turned out and I hope you guys are happier too. I also find this version sadder and more angsty that the original which is brilliant.
> 
> I'll start working on the second chapter soon and have it up as quickly as possible. I''ll also start working on the third chapter which I warn you, is gonna be veeerrrryyyy heavy (sorry Rhysie, but I'm depressed and hate myself and making you suffer is my outlet)
> 
> I've written this on my laptop rather than my phone, so I apologise if the layout is weird, I'll try to have it fixed for chapter two.
> 
> So enjoy this brand-new, spankin' update and I hope it is much improved! :D

It was a bit of an understatement saying that Jack was not an overly liked person. Admired yes, but not liked, or at least in the way Rhys did. Luckily for him, the majority of people who hated him were too scared to touch him, however, you always got that one dickbag who tried to take him on, which usually ended up with said dickbags brain splattered all over the wall. But some of these idiots were clever enough to understand that Jack would beat their miserable bodies to mush, and decided to try to hurt him in a different way. This particular way was tall, lanky and went by the name of Rhys.

Not many people had been stupid enough to try to hurt Rhys or even look at him funny, but it had been a threat that had hung over the two men from day one. There weren't many people Jack cared about, but those he did he loved dearly (even if he did screw up at times) and the reason Jack kept this little circle of friends and family small, was because he knew it was his biggest weakness. After all, why kill the lead wolf when you could pick off his pack one by one, until he was alone?

_Or, because they know it would hurt you more than any bullet wounds or poison ever could._

It didn't bring the Hyperion king any comfort by the fact that Rhys had no fighting skills _what so ever_ , he was a company man, he couldn't hold a gun (or at least a real one) to save his life, and although he could be quite handy with a baton (which _defiantly_ didn't turn Jack on _at all_ ) he was practically a star target to some pissed off employee or Pandorian scum.

  
So when Vaughn burst into Jacks office with a look of deep-seated dread and fear, Jack knew, with an unfamiliar sinking feeling in his chest, that something had happened to Rhys.

His fears were only confirmed when Vaughn managed to stutter out what he'd seen on the security footage.

  
" _The fuck do you mean he's been kidnapped?!_ " Jack roared at Vaughn. The poor accountant was already shaking like a leaf, and having Handsome Jack in his face like that practically made him shit himself.

  
"L-look Jack I-" stammered Vaughn. Jack narrowed his eyes, his fingers practically _screaming_ for his gun. He knew it was no coincidence that it was Vaughn breaking the news to him. By being Rhys' best friend, he had been granted annuity from having his head blown off, but the look Jack had on his face at the moment, clearly told the smaller man that it was something could easily be reversed.

Jack took a step forward so that he was even closer to the accountant. Jack watched the way his adam's apple bobbed up and down his neck in anxiety and couldn't help but let a sly smirk flicker across his face. "Look tweedledick, you better get that ass down to cybernetics, and get them tracking Rhys' ECHOeye, or I'll throw that promise of not killing you out of the window, and you'll be following it out of a _fucking airlock_ " Jack snarled, all teeth and glinting eyes.

  
"Y-yes sir" Vaughn practically squeaked and he turned and bolted from the office, as if there was a skag snapping at his heels.

  
Jack turned and sucked air between his teeth, running his hand through his hair. Anxiety gripped his chest like a clamp and he let out a shaky breath. _Fuck_ Rhys. He hated how that damned kid he made him feel, with his bloody piss-poor fighting skills and clumsy character; accompanied by a tall, lanky frame better suited to office work than running about on Pandora. He hated how youthful and innocent his face looked (although Jack knew he was far from innocent) and how bright his eyes shone when he looked out over Elipis. The overwhelming desire to _protect_ him was almost crippling the tyrannical CEO.

  
_What if I've got him killed? Just like Angel, just like everyone-_

  
No, he was fucking _Handsome Jack_ , he didn't get nervous, or worried, or scared... and defiantly not over someone other than himself. He made a mental note to shoot somebody after he sorted this mess out. Yes, shooting somebody sounded like a very good idea right now.

  
He groaned and started to pace around his office, sparing time only to glance out over Pandora. Where _was_ he? Jack knew from the security tapes he'd been bundled into a cargo ship and sent off to the scum-infested planet below but he didn't know _where_ and it was infuriating him. The damn assholes who took Rhys had scrambled the ships tracking code until it was undetectable.

He went back to his pacing as he didn't know what else to do, hopefully, this would all just blow over and Rhys would be fine. Perhaps the kidnappers would get cold feet and bolt, or Rhys would annoy the life out of them. He could see it now, Rhys sassing and being a pain in the ass to his kidnappers, making them regret the entire thing. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

Rhys would be just fine, right?

 

**\----**

 

After half an hour Jack finally cracked and stormed out of his office and down to cybernetics a wildfire in his head.

  
"Alright, where the _hell_ is he?" He snarled as he slammed open the door into the monitoring room, which was in charge of all cybernetic and airship movement and location. His fingers resting idly on his gun, a subtle but prominent threat. He was met with a sea of lost and terrified faces. Shit.

Everybody just stood there, gaping at him like the idiots they probably were, too nervous to move in case they were the spark that set the bomb off.

  
Jack sighed impatiently, he didn't have time for this, _Rhys_ didn't have time for this "The first person to get a lead gets a raise" he bribed.

  
Immediately a short, rather fat man jumped forward eagerly "Sir, we can't track his ECHOeye currently, the signal blocked, whoever kidnapped him knows how they work and were able to hack it. Or they removed it" the employee finished with a grin, piggy eyes glinting with the thought of more money for his deep pockets.

  
"Brilliant" replied Jack, and in one swift movement he pulled his gun from his holster and shot the man right in the head. Blood splattered all over the walls and the room's occupants yelled out in surprise. "Alright, the next person who gives me bad news in that cheery tone gets _two_ bullets to the face" he glared around the room, eyeing each person up.

After a few silent moments in, a female worker with eyes as dark as her hair, spoke up, albeit in a more nervous tone "Well-you see we can't actually find his location. There appears to be something blocking the signal, we could probably hack into it in a few hours"

  
Jack grimaced "A few hours? You'll have to do better than that, you have one hour. Tops. After that I start shooting people" Jack crossed his arms over his chest in an aggressive poise. Immediately everyone got to work, and the room was filled with the sounds of frantic typing and hushed conversation, Jack's threat encouraging them to work faster, and his example fresh on their minds.

 

  
**\----**

 

"Sir! We got a hit!"

  
_Finally_ , 4 fucking hours and 2 more dead employees later, they were finally getting somewhere.

  
Jack dashed over to the red-haired woman that called out "What is it?"

  
"I don't know it just appeared - his ECHOeye signal, maybe he escaped and activated it?" She asked quizzically, trying to look at Jack.

  
Jack kept azure eyes locked on the screen, where a little red circle with the words 'EE:173' was blinking "Yeah or maybe they turned it back on and are trying to lead us into a trap" Jacks' eyes narrowed thoughtfully "Right, run by it and make sure that it's real, I ain't wasting more time by following a false trail" The woman jumped into to action, frantically decoding the signal.

After a few moments of lines of green code running across the screen, the red-haired woman (who Jack learned was called Mira as he mentally reminded himself to promote her) seemed to spot something that satisfied her.

"Sir, this signal is authentic, I've traced it to an abandoned warehouse on Pandora" she paused for a second, running amber eyes over a map that appeared on screen "Coordinates are 21:23:75"

She had barely finished the sentence before Jack had bolted out of the room and towards the weapons vault.

 

**\----**

 

The flight down to Pandora was silent, bar Jacks briefing on the mission just after take-off. Everyone could sense the tension in the air, so thick it felt as if you could cut it with a butter knife. Jack could see the side glances everyone was giving each other but pushed down the desire to lunge at them. He needed as many men as possible for this, the idea that they were walking face-first into a trap hung heavy over their heads.

 

  
**\----**

 

_Rhys screwed his eyes up tightly as he felt his ECHOeye come back to life. He didn't move an inch as he heard the crunch of gravel under the other man's feet, as he stood up from where'd he'd been leaning over Rhys and walked away. It was only after Rhys heard the heavy steel door swing shut and the two pairs of footsteps diminish that he finally opened his eyes. For a while, he just lay there, face down in the dirt until he could no longer ignore the bite of air on his bare skin and so reached with trembling fingers for the clothes that lay just an arms-reach away._

 

  
**\----**

 

After what seemed like an age, the ship finally reached touch-down on the sands of Pandora. As Jack stepped out, he was greeted with a looming grey building with broken boarded up windows and graffiti scrawled across it. There were marks in the sand from a ship that were recent, but other than that the place looked empty. Knowing full-well how looks can be deceiving, Jack fired up his gun and motioned for the men to follow him.

 

  
**\----**

 

_He is never coming for you._

 

**\----**

 

The warehouse was huge and surprisingly quiet. No one seemed to be here. Bare, cracked walls riddled with bullet holes from long-forgotten fights seemed to glare down upon the group of Hyperions. Jack could hear rats scurrying from behind the plaster and had to duck as he walked through an empty door-frame to avoid getting caught in a huge cobweb. The doorway opened up to a huge auditorium that branched off into long corridors with rooms locked with steel doors. There were no turrets, no snipers, no sign of life and more importantly, no sign of Rhys. It put Jack more on edge than if they walked into a full-on gun fight. He called out for some of his guys to stay in the main room, and the rest split up into groups to check the adjoining rooms.

Jack's team were halfway through checking through their second room when they got a yell down the hall.

  
"Boss! I think we've found him!"

  
Jack turned sharply on his heel and sped down the corridor to where a group of soldiers was respectfully waiting outside of a room. Jack made a mental note not to kill any of them as a reward, and with a shuddering breath and a moment's hesitation, he opened the steel door that was already ajar and entered the room.

The room he was greeted with was dark and dimly lit, the white-washed walls were cracked and scuffed with mold growing in the corners. As Jack walked in the only sound to penetrate the silence was the cracking of small stones and grit under his boots

It felt... wrong somehow, Jack couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the hairs along his spine rose and a shiver ran through him. He just wanted to find Rhys and get the hell out of here. Jack glanced around and saw a heap in a corner of long, tangled limbs.

"Rhys? Rhysie?" Jack approached the heap in the corner nervously. Rhys wouldn't have been left alone here unless they didn't have a use for him, which meant that he could be-

  
Rhys shifted and sat up, vanishing Jacks thoughts.

  
" _Rhys_!" Relief flooded Jacks system so fast he went dizzy for a split moment. Regardless, Jack dashed to Rhys' side and crouched next to him "You ok cupcake?"

  
He could see Rhys glance at him in the dim light, his mismatched eyes staring at him unnervingly.

  
Jack swallowed "Err Rhys? You ok babe?" He asked anxiously. He didn't like this. Not one bit. Rhys' already pale face looked almost bloodless, even in the shitty light. He could see where his shirt had ripped and several small bruises littered down his neck and over his shoulder. His cybernetic arm sat limply on his thigh, most likely deactivated, his wrists were taped tightly in front of him.

Rhys continued to stare at him for a few more minutes before seemingly snapping out of his trance and collapsing into Jacks' arms, burying his head into the older man's neck. "Please" he whispered, "I just want to go home"

"Hey, hey it's ok" Jack soothed "We'll get you home cupcake don't you worry" he reached up to stroke Rhys' hair but before he could, Rhys had pulled back sharply. Jacks eyes narrowed "What's up kiddo?"

  
"Don't call me that" Rhys voice came out tense.

  
"Call you what?" Said Jack confused, Rhys was really starting to freak him out.

  
" _Cupcake_ " he spat venomously.

  
"What? You've never minded being called cup-"

  
"I said _don't_ " Rhys' voiced cracked, as if he was about to cry.

  
"I-ok, ok... let's just get you out of here" if Jack thought he was on edge before then it didn't even compare to how he felt now. He glanced over the younger man but couldn't see any serious wounds. He pulled out his knife and started cutting the tape around Rhys' hands, noticing the way in how he flinched back "You hurt anywhere? Did they hurt you?"

  
"I..." Jack could see Rhys hesitate "I'm fine. It's fine" Jack glared at him "Seriously I'm fine, I just ache"

  
Jack sighed and finished off pulling the last of the tape off "Come on then cup-kiddo let's get you home" he pulled Rhys up and caught him as he almost fell down. "You sure you're ok?"

  
"I'm fine just... it's nothing" murmured Rhys and he looped his arm round Jacks neck, leaning on him for support. Jacks arm came round and held him on the waist, as he did so Rhys nuzzled into Jacks' neck, and Jack couldn't help but let the tension fall from his shoulders, just happy that his Rhys was back.

 

  
**\----**

 

It was only when they got back to the ship that Jacks trepidation was finally confirmed. It started when he sat Rhys in his chair and Rhys let out a whimper and a grimace of pain as he sat down, furrowing his brows together tightly.

Jack watched him like a hawk, eyes skimming over the younger man's face and taking in every line of pain that etched across it "Rhys are you sure you're ok?" He asked for what must be the millionth time "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

He saw Rhys nod, but he kept his face down and away from his boyfriend. Jack sighed and gave up, sitting in the seat next to Rhys' and strapped himself in.

  
They were halfway back to Helios when he glanced over Rhys again. He noticed how rumpled and dirty his clothes were as if he'd been rolling around on the ground. His hair was a stark contrast to his usual slicked back style, it was sticking up all over the place, in every direction possible. Jack ran his eyes over Rhys' sharp jawline and noticed there were small scratches and nicks along it, a large bruise was forming on his cheekbone and there was a deep cut on Rhys' chin that had only now just scabbed over. Not only that, but Rhys hadn't said a word since arriving on the ship. Normally Rhys would've chatted his head off by now, making up some elaborate story, but instead, he refused to answer any of Jacks nagging questions, choosing instead to fiddle with the unresponsive cybernetic arm that lay limply on his lap.

_Rhys, what happened?_

_How did they take you?_

  
He couldn't shake the nagging feeling he had in his chest that something was really, _really_ wrong.

  
_Why won't you just fucking talk to me?_

  
Jack unclipped himself and crouched in front of Rhys, feeling the deep pull of the ships artificial gravity in his stomach.

"Rhysie? Hey, Rhysie" he called out softly to him. Rhys was still determined not to look at him, but his chest was giving the little tell-tale shakes of when he was about to cry. Jack gently grabbed Rhys' chin, mindful of the cut, and turned it towards him, noticing how flushed and hot his cheeks were, contrasting to his still too pale skin. His cheeks never looked like that unless...

"Rhys?" Said Jack again, sharply this time. Rhys flinched and closed his eyes with a shudder. His gaze wandered down to Rhys' neck and shoulder, seeing his bruises clearly now in the better lighting.

  
Hickeys.

  
Bite marks.

  
Jack stared for a moment, he sure as hell didn't put them there so-

  
Oh.

  
_Oh_.

  
Jack lunged out to pull the ripped shirt away, determined to see what this _bastard_ did to his Rhys, but Rhys' arm shot up to stop him. That was when Jack noticed how black and bruised Rhys' wrists were. Restraint marks, as if someone had been holding him down.

"Oh Rhys no..." Jack breathed out, the shock of what he was seeing, what he was _thinking_ , made his body and mind freeze in place.

  
It didn't last long though, his hands quickly became fists and he looked at Rhys long and hard, trying to ignore the red haze creeping into the corners of his vision.

  
"Rhys, tell me what happened, _now_ " he said forcefully, not as a request from a partner, but as a command from a CEO.

  
Rhys' lip quivered, before the tears he had long held in finally fell. He curled up sobbed into his working hand, while his cybernetic one hung uselessly by his side.

"Please tell me this is just my fucked up imagination and not what I think it is"

  
"I'm sorry" gasped Rhys "I'm s-so sorry..."

  
"Sorry-Rhys what the fuck are you sorry for? You're the one that's hurt" said Jack in disbelief, desperately trying to fight the crimson quickly obscuring his eyesight.

  
"l-let him-" Rhys stammered, growing worse by the second, the dam had broken and tears were pouring down his face now.

"Rhys no - this isn't your fault, calm down!" Jack pulled Rhys into a hug hoping it would settle his boyfriend. He felt Rhys shaking in his arms and he thought of what that _bastard_ had done to him. Rage flushed him and he thought of how he was going to rip that asshole _limb_ from fucking _limb_ -

  
"Jack you're hurting me" he heard barely Rhys whimper, his voice was cracked and hoarse - so different from what it should be. He glanced down to see his hands had formed tight fists in Rhys' back and were digging into his skin.

  
Unfamiliar guilt pricked at Jacks insides and the haze in his eyes seemed to fade for a mere second "Shit Rhys, I'm sorry" He muttered as he pulled away "I just thought of what I'll do when I get my hands on the _fucking_ _pile of shit_ that did this to you"

  
Rhys sniffed and looked at him "S-so you're not mad at me?"

  
Jack stared at him with wide eyes, "Why - why the fuck would I be mad at you?" He yelled, catching everyone in the ship's attention

Rhys flinched back, hitting the wall behind him with a metallic _clang_ "I-I-" he stammered out.

  
Jack rubbed his face tiredly "Look Rhys let's get you back in Helios ok? We'll get you to the med wing and get checked over-"

  
"No, no" interrupted Rhys "I just wanna go home..."

  
"Rhys you can't-" he broke off for a second "You can't pretend that nothing's happened"

Rhys shook his head stubbornly "I'll be fine I just need to rest-"

  
"Rhys...you - you need to take a rape kit-" Jack could barely get the words out of his mouth.

  
_How could this happen?_

  
_How could I **let** this happen?_

 

Rhys' eyes flew open at that "No, I c-can't, I _can't_ "

  
Jack narrowed his eyes, _damn it Rhys can't you see that I'm trying to help you?_ "Rhys I don't care, I'm going to find the son of a taint and give him _hell_. No-one and I mean _no-one_ can get away with hurting you, especially - especially like this"

Rhys just stared at him with this _goddam look in his eyes-_

  
"-so you're taking the damn test so it can help me find him, no objections" Jack growled, he paused for a second, not quite sure what exactly he just said. From the look on Rhys' face, it was something cruel "You're taking one. End of" and with that he got up and stormed off.

He found himself standing behind the pilot, watching Helios come ever closer.

_How could I let this happen?_

 

**\----**

 

Rhys stared at his hand numbly, Jacks words ringing in his ears, he could feel the hot gazes of the soldiers in the ship and felt his face grow even hotter. He pushed down the bile that threatened to rise as scene after scene flashed in his head.

_I will ruin you._

  
_And through that, I will ruin him._


End file.
